Bourne in 1965

A SCRAPBOOK documenting the wartime efforts of the Womens’ Institute in Dorset has been declared a national treasure by the British Library. The leather bound volume was compiled in 1945 and contains poems, prose and paintings telling the stories of the hard work put in by the ladies while their men were away in the front line and despite the years between 1939-45 being times of tremendous adversity, everything in it is described as being “extremely joyful”.

Bourne too has its own example of the joyful ladies, and although written 20 years later, it too reflects the wonderful work they did and the good times they shared in each others company. There is also an added ingredient because this book chronicles the changing face of a small market town struggling to keep pace with modern developments and ideas and so provides us with a snapshot of our history from the year 1965.

At that time, the Bourne branch of the Women’s Institute had 113 members, meeting at the Darby and Joan Hall in South Street on the second Monday of each month from 7 pm until 9 pm when the average attendance was 76 members. The annual subscription was 5s. [25p] and activities included music, produce, handicrafts, drama, outings, art and cookery. It was also Golden Jubilee year and the ladies decided to enter a national competition for scrapbooks organised by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes to celebrate the occasion by compiling an entry telling the story of Bourne in words and pictures. The various subjects were delegated to various members who carried out the necessary research and wrote it up on individual pages which were then bound together in an album that is crammed with facts and photographs, maps and diagrams.

In 1965, the Lords of the Manor [a title now defunct) were the Marquess of Exeter (Bourne) and Victor Robert Pochin (Bourne Abbots) and Bourne was situated in the Kesteven division, one of three administrative areas that comprised the county of Lincolnshire, the others being Lindsey and Holland. The entire parish of Bourne covered 10,059 acres of land and 44 acres of water, and the soil was fen and loam with a subsoil of silt and gravel.

The population in that year was 5,600 and local affairs were in the hands of Bourne Urban District Council, meeting monthly at the Corn Exchange under the chairmanship of Councillor John Grummitt and responsible for highways and works, public health, housing, planning and development and finance, all matters that have now been dispersed to other authorities based outside the town. Major house building programmes were underway off West Road, the Austerby and Mill Drove and new factory sites were being developed in the Eastgate area. In that year, Bourne won the Rudolph Elwes Trophy for the best-kept town in Lincolnshire, an honour marked with a civic tree planting ceremony at the Abbey Lawn.

Public services in the town included the police with one inspector, two sergeants, seven constables, one detective, a motor cyclist and regular attendance by a patrol car, and the fire brigade with a controller, three officers, 14 firemen and three appliances. The Civil Defence Corps which had been active during the war was still operational with 60 members meeting three evenings a week at their headquarters in South Street [now the public library] which were officially opened during the year and taking part in various exercises and social functions. The Royal Observer Corps had a fully equipped underground observation post just off the main A15 between Bourne and Morton with five observers, holding meetings twice a month and periodic exercises.

During the year, the west front of the Abbey Church was floodlit, a new oil-fired heating system was installed and a fine Bechstein grand piano acquired. The choir at that time consisted of 12 boys and eight men under the choirmaster, Jack Burchnell, and other church organisations included the Mothers’ Union, Young Wives, the Tea Club, youth club, St Peter’s Guild and Men’s Society. The Baptist Church in West Street held a big flower show during the year and other organisations included the Boy’s Brigade, Life Boys, Girls’ Own and Women’s Own. The Methodist Church in Abbey Road opened a new church hall during the year with a choir concert and there was also an active Sunday School, Sisterhood and Circuit Choir while the Congregational Church in Eastgate was running a Young People’s Fellowship, a Junior Fellowship and Women’s Guild. Ladies of the church also provided 200 high teas for visitors to the tulip fields in the spring, raising £45 for church funds.

The town had three hospitals, midwifery, home nursing and welfare services and health visitors, a probation officer, old people’s homes and children‘s hostel and a wide range of voluntary organisations, many of which continue with their good work today. There were also many sporting organisations for football, bowls, hockey, tennis, angling, badminton, darts and cribbage.

The main industry was agriculture but there was also a strong light industrial presence including timber, laundering, printing, malting and horticulture. Many employers and organisations that no longer exist are mentioned while others have not only survived to this day but also thrived. The overall picture from 40 years ago suggests a busy market town with high employment and a wide range of welfare and social facilities and a health service that would be envied today.

Everyone seems to have been very busy and it is worth remembering that at this time television did not have the universal appeal that it commands today, money was hard-earned and there was less about and so people were more likely to make their own entertainment and pursue their own activities. Nevertheless, the picture painted by this scrapbook is of a small self-contained community at ease with itself and quite unaware of the tremendous changes that were to come in the years that followed.

This interesting book now provides us with a glimpse of Bourne as it was forty years ago and in 2005 it was handed over to the Civic Society for safe keeping at the Heritage Centre in South Street, a literary time capsule in the life of this town.